1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to automated financial services. Specifically, the embodiments of the invention relate to the provision of these services as software components and the support of these software components.
2. Background
Automated payroll services systems are provided to end users (e.g., businesses and similar organizations) via a vendor (e.g., a business that sells automated payroll services to their clients who are end users). The end user and/or vendor of automated payroll service systems must interact with and use multiple service providers in order to carry out financial transactions related to payroll processing including tax payment processing, trust fund processing, investment of funds, and similar financial transactions.
The need to interact with multiple “outside” service providers to carry out payroll management places a burden on vendors and/or end users of payroll service systems to produce the varied financial data required by these “outside” financial service providers. Each service provider (i.e., trust fund management provider, tax payment processor and similar service providers) has independent systems to implement its services. These independent systems each require the end users/and or vendors to train staff on the software components (e.g., software applications that generate files for or manage payroll processing, ACH transactions and similar financial services) that implement the respective financial systems. If the vendor provides this support service to the end user, then it detracts from the main focus of the vendor's business as a payroll processor. Instead of focusing on its core business it is forced to provide technical support to the end users. If the vendor does not provide this support, then the end users are forced to train and support their own staff and interact with both the vendor and the software developer to address any problems in the use or management of the software and the overall system. Similarly, the vendor must train its staff on the use and management of the software components that implement the services that it offers to the end users. This problem can be further exacerbated if the vendor utilizes software components from multiple developers.